RIFF OUT is an album that reflects the diverse tropes underpinning Sérgio Pelágio's work, from jazz to compositions for dance performances, including original music for his story-telling shows Histórias Magnéticas, previously unrecorded compositions from his former band Idefix, new tracks, and many dedications, some of which to people who have left us. The cover art is by Sofia Pelágio who, at the age of 9, imagined and drew a monster of lively colours which would end up revealing one of the sources of inspiration for this work.

RIFF OUT's live debut in its quartet formation took place at Teatro Municipal da Covilhã, on October 21, as part of the 20th anniversary of the art association Quarta Parede. In its first presentation, the album received very encouraging reactions from the audience, and the tour has henceforth taken shape.​

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"A riff is a small phrase, a strong musical motif, which ends up becoming a pattern and is then replicated among musicians in a composition or in their improvised solos. Before there were Jazz schools, musicians often began learning their instrument through riffs that they collected, adapting and transforming them according to their liking.

Riff Out is an expression I once heard in the musical sense of free phrasing, of a person “letting loose” while playing, “giving it all they’ve got.”

I have liked it, kept it, and now thought it would be a nice title for this work, in which many compositions are based on my own riffs, written by myself over time, especially for the double bass, and which constitute the melodic, harmonic, and rhythmic bases of everything else.

The monster picture is part of a series drawn by my daughter Sofia and was the visual inspiration for the sound composition. I look at it and see our entrails turned inside out, as well as explosive, festive and highly suggestive figures.

This work has a North-American “accent” that reminds me of my time in NY in the 1980s. As we grow older, we become more aware of the circular idea of ​​life, of cycles reaching completion and acquiring full meaning. When we get to capture that, it is meaningful and a lot of fun."

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Sérgio Pelágio

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"Sérgio Pelágio's return to jazz is always a joy. Thirty years (thirty years!) after his project Idefix’s release of Idefix Live (at Hot Clube de Portugal), the Lisbon-based guitarist and composer is back to jazz recordings under his own name with Riff Out.

[…] A sober and worldly album, Riff Out is Sérgio Pelágio’s excellent return to jazz records. We want him to be around more often.[...] ."

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António Branco in JAZZ.PT (translated), November 5, 2022 

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Riff Out (live track)

[[excerpt from the show Riff Out at Cine-Teatro Avenida, in Castelo Branco, on April 20, 2024, which includes:

"Final",

"Transição" (double bass solo),

and "Ex-duetos de alegria" from the album For Gust 9723]]

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